Rockledge Health & Rehabilitation Center — Local services in Rockledge

PLEASE PLEASE HEED ALL THE REVIEWS YOU CAN FIND ON EVERY SINGLE WEBSITE AVAILABLE, AND DO NOT LEAVE YOUR LOVED ONE IN THIS FACILITY.

We had to transfer my Dad from an out of town hospital to a local rehab closer to home and were desperate to find an open bed and this was only one available. From the moment we arrived in the evening after he was medically transported, we felt like we had walked into a horror film.

There were patients all over the halls being neglected. Not a single person welcomed us or did a proper intake on my Dad. A cna showed us to his room. The hospital had insisted he be given a private room because he was at great risk of infection, yet he was placed in room with a very mentally unstable individual who was being neglected. We continued to ask to speak with a department head or nurse to discuss my Dad’s condition and our concerns and things he was at risk for. Finally by 11:30pm, we went home after no one was available.

They offered to move my Dad into private room the next morning, but it was filthy and we had to request they at least sweep the floor. We have a large family and were present from morning until late night. We witnessed extreme neglect of patients who did not have loved ones advocating for them. The one time we did not arrive early, they left my Dad alone in a wheelchair for hours unattended in the courtyard. The rehab was subpar and family was discouraged from participating. Unlike the premier rehabs nationwide I have been in where one PT is assigned to a patient and family participation is welcome. At Rockledge it was a 3:1 ratio where patients where left on the machines alone to complete the exercise with no guidance or supervision. Deplorable conditions.

The nursing staff was extremely inadequate with very little medical knowledge. Most of them seemed to be trained at the level of a cna and didn’t do more than dispense meds from a chart. WE NEVER ONCE saw or talked to a Doctor. An RN told us she was the Doctor’s eyes and ears. They were on call and supposed to come in to check patients, but did not the entire time my Dad was there.

My Dad was at extreme risk of infection which could be immediately fatal. This same RN checked my Dad as he showed signs of infection and fever and did not take it seriously and went home early evening. It required my calling the night nurse from 9pm-2am (I live out of state) to continue to check on my Dad. She was so ill equipped and ill informed of his condition, I finally insisted they get him medically transported to the ER where he almost died. I feel certain he would have passed in the rehab if we had not gotten him out of there with their unprofessionalism and lack of proper medical knowledge and care. My brother went to pick up his belonging the next day and they were thrown in a box as if they couldn’t get him out of there fast enough. Not a single person called to check on him or see if he was ok.

It is devastating to read of the families who did lose their loved ones in this horrendous facility. We read some of these reviews before, but we were desperate for my Dad to recover and get the rehab he needed. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND you consider your loved one would be better and safer in the hospital or in home healthcare with inpatient rehab or outpatient rehab if this is your only option.

I have never written a negative review about anything because as time passes, feelings smooth over, etc. But I feel compelled to share our experience along with so many others to prevent other families from suffering and having regrets that our family did. My Dad was a young, fit, capable, independent and intelligent businessman before his illness. Yet he would call us in the middle of night frantic to get him out of there because they were so neglectful of his care and so unresponsive. I am thankful we finally did. PLEASE HEED ALL THE REVIEWS AND DO NOT LEAVE YOUR LOVED ONE IN THIS FACILITY. Unless Greystone can come in and clean up and retrain the staff, this place needs to...

My stepmother was sent to this facility at the 11th hour when she needed to move from Kindred to rehab somewhere in Brevard County.

When I first arrived, I tried to stay optimistic - the rehab gym looks nice, there's a baby grand piano in the front waiting area, and the receptionist was very nice.

But the place needs a fresh coat of paint and as soon as you walk past the front entrance the smell of feces will hit you in the face.

At first we thought "well, the place looks and smells run down, and it's in a dodgy neighborhood, but the people have good hearts." Because within our first 3 hours there, we spoke to a nurse, physical therapist, doctor, and nursing "concierge" who were all very, very nice.

Sadly, that's where the good parts of our experience at Rockledge Health and Rehab Center ended.

The room my stepmother was placed in was clearly intended for a single patient. Rockledge is putting two patients in these rooms. They are incredibly small rooms, no hint of privacy can be given in such small spaces. (And further down the hallway you can see the larger rooms, with two patients, that were clearly intended to accommodate two people and are twice the size of the smaller rooms)

And those small rooms? They share a bathroom with the room adjacent to them.

That means FOUR - yes FOUR - sick people with God only knows what kind of medical and health care conditions, are sharing a bathroom.

My stepmother would use her call light to request help as she is mostly immobile due to muscle atrophy and it would take upwards of 45 minutes to get a response. I can understand the ONE nurse on-duty taking that long to get to her - that nurse has to see all the patients in that crowded wing, so it makes sense - but not even an aid or CNA would come to help within 30 to 45 minutes. There is simply no sense of urgency, or real sense of care, from the majority of the employees there.

The rotating doctors my stepmom spoke with all agreed with her shock at the facility, supporting her comments that the place was subpar. Their response indicated that ALL rehab facilities in Brevard county are like this and she would be silly to expect anything different.

After watching the staff dig a clip to her colostomy bag out of the trash (their reasoning was that the box of bags only comes with one clip, and someone else in the facility got that clip, so they had to save her clip from the trash that came with her from her previous facility so she would have one), she began to seriously fear for her life from infection.

We quickly got her transferred to Health Center of Merritt Island. After being told that the conditions at Rockledge were "normal," I honestly expected to be jumping from the fryer to the frying pan. But I am happy to report that is NOT the case.

If you have a loved one in the Brevard County area, I would highly, HIGHLY, discourage you from sending them to Rockledge Health and Rehab Center. There are select staff members who have enormous hearts, but it's just not enough to make up for everyone, and every THING, else.

I have contacted The Florida Department of Elder Affairs and hope that they will take a deeper look into the conditions at Rockledge. At the very least, I hope someone realizes that no two people should be shoved into those tiny rooms and forced to share a bathroom with three others. I don't care how long or short their...

DO NOT PUT YOUR LOVED ONE IN THIS FACILITY I only wish I had done my research ahead of time. I lost my sister because this facility neglected her by not having enough staff that cared enough to help her in her time of need. She was here only three days before she died and only passed away after her family finally went home to get some sleep after being there for two days nonstop because no one came to help her. She would push the button for help and no one came for hours and when they finally did come her needs were taken care of by her family (going to the bathroom, finding someone to administer meds, etc). On the day she arrived she sat in a room (five days out of triple bypass surgery) for hours because the facility was short staffed over the Memorial Day weekend. She was placed in a room with no air conditioning, she was told she couldn't take a shower because it wasn't their "shower" day. This facility neglected her and as a result, I believe, she was not given the attention she needed when she called for it.

Please, please, do your research and look up all the other negative comments about this place. We spoke to a police investigator who told us the police department had to do regular inspections because there were so many complaints. My sister might still be with us if we had only known.

When we confronted the facility we were taken right past the room my sister passed away in to meet in a tiny, dark, little office that we all didn't really fit in. Once we spoke our peace we were contacted by their Corporate office to come back and retell the story and we were treated like VIP's. We tried to get a lawyer to take the case but they wouldn't because my sisters health was so bad but please consider not using this facility.

There are so many other issues with this facility I cannot name them all here but there is no security, no accountability, and your family member will NOT be taken care of! If you do leave them here make sure there is someone with them 24/7. On my sister's last day alive she expressed how much she didn't want to be left alone, not because the staff was abusive but because she was afraid something would happen and no one would come. Her worst fear was realized and now she's gone. Please don't let this...